I'm sure I'm not the first boxer this has happened to, but I've
certainly never heard of it. Feel free to beat me up (virtually) if I
did the wrong thing, but I couldn't think of any other solution.

I rode my bike home from work today, and feeling insufferably healthy
and adventurous, decided to stop off to look for the two boxes in
Lacey Woods Park. I looked for the Year 2003 box first. As I rode
up, I noticed a pickup truck parked at the picnic pavilion with one or
two people around, but thought nothing of it. I found the box exactly
where it was supposed to be. It was in pretty good shape - a bit
waterlogged, but the book itself was dry. I was the first boxer there
this spring. I carried the box down near the road (and away from
mosquitoes - and it's only May!) to stamp in. When I was finished, I
took the box back up the path, only to notice that three more vehicles
were now at the picnic area, and a host of people in gray uniforms
were gathered around. Sure enough, I now saw that all the cars said
"Park Ranger" on the side. The site of the box is in full view of the
picnic pavilion, and several of the dozen or so rangers were watching
me suspiciously. (As a former prosecutor, I can tell you that law
enforcement officers tend to look askance at lone men in parks, for
more reasons than just the obvious one.)

Rather than replace the box while they were watching me, I tucked it
under my arm, got on my bike and rode through the picnic area to see
what was up. Charcoal grills were lit, hotdogs were cooking . . .
Unbelievable. The rangers were having a picnic!!! They were
obviously planning on being there for the long haul. And they were
watching me.

There was no way I could replant the box without the rangers seeing
me. And I wasn't about to ask permission because, at best, I foresaw
a long, long discussion with lots of skeptical stares ("so you hide
this thing in the woods, and other people come looking for it, and . .
."). It's possible that I could have persuaded them. It's also
possible that the box would have been confiscated.

So . . . I tucked the box in my bag and took it home with me.

Sorry if I did the wrong thing, but I couldn't think of anything else.
At least this way I can dry it out and replace the bags. I`ll
replant it when I ride by next week, probably on Tuesday. Apologies
to Schizokeet (the planter) and anyone else who might have been
planning to search this weekend.

- Early Bird, Vienna